4D-STEM at interfaces to GaN: Centre-of-mass approach & NBED-disc detection.

4D-scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) can be used to measure electric fields such as atomic fields or polarization-induced electric fields in crystal heterostructures. The paper focuses on effects occurring in 4D-STEM at interfaces, where two model systems are used: an AlN/GaN nanowire superlattice as well as a GaN/vacuum interface. Two different methods are applied: First, we employ the centre-of mass (COM) technique which uses the average momentum transfer evaluated from the intensity distribution in the diffraction pattern. Second, we measure the shift of the undiffracted disc (disc-detection method) in nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED). Both methods are applied to experimental and simulated 4D-STEM data sets. We find for both techniques distinct variations in the momentum transfer at interfaces between materials: In both model systems, peaks occur at the interfaces and we investigate possible sources and routes of interpretation. In case of the AlN/GaN superlattice, the COM and disc-detection methods are used to measure internal polarization-induced electric fields and we observed a reduction of the measured fields with increasing specimen thickness.

Electrical Polarization in AlN/GaN Nanodisks Measured by Momentum-Resolved 4D Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy.

We report the mapping of polarization-induced internal electric fields in AlN/GaN nanowire heterostructures at unit cell resolution as a key for the correlation of optical and structural phenomena in semiconductor optoelectronics. Momentum-resolved aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy is employed as a new imaging mode that simultaneously provides four-dimensional data in real and reciprocal space. We demonstrate how internal mesoscale and atomic electric fields can be separated in an experiment, which is verified by comprehensive dynamical simulations of multiple electron scattering. A mean difference of 5.3±1.5 MV/cm is found for the polarization-induced electric fields in AlN and GaN, being in accordance with dedicated simulations and photoluminescence measurements in previous publications.

Optical emission of GaN/AlN quantum-wires - the role of charge transfer from a nanowire template.

We show that one-dimensional (1d) GaN quantum-wires (QWRs) exhibit intense and spectrally sharp emission lines. These QWRs are realized in an entirely self-assembled growth process by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on the side facets of GaN/AlN nanowire (NW) heterostructures. Time-integrated and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) data in combination with numerical calculations allow the identification and assignment of the manifold emission features to three different spatial recombination centers within the NWs. The recombination processes in the QWRs are driven by efficient charge carrier transfer effects between the different optically active regions, providing high intense QWR luminescence despite their small volume. This is deduced by a fast rise time of the QWR PL, which is similar to the fast decay-time of adjacent carrier reservoirs. Such processes, feeding the ultra-narrow QWRs with carriers from the relatively large NWs, can be the key feature towards the realization of future QWR-based devices. While processing of single quantum structures with diameters in the nm range presents a serious obstacle with respect to their integration into electronic or photonic devices, the QWRs presented here can be analyzed and processed using existing techniques developed for single NWs.

Bias-Controlled Optical Transitions in GaN/AlN Nanowire Heterostructures.

We report on the control and modification of optical transitions in 40× GaN/AlN heterostructure superlattices embedded in GaN nanowires by an externally applied bias. The complex band profile of these multi-nanodisc heterostructures gives rise to a manifold of optical transitions, whose emission characteristic is strongly influenced by polarization-induced internal electric fields. We demonstrate that the superposition of an external axial electric field along a single contacted nanowire leads to specific modifications of each photoluminescence emission, which allows to investigate and identify their origin and to control their characteristic properties in terms of transition energy, intensity and decay time. Using this approach, direct transitions within one nanodisc, indirect transitions between adjacent nanodiscs, transitions at the top/bottom edge of the heterostructure, and the GaN near-band-edge emission can be distinguished. While the transition energy of the direct transition can be shifted by external bias over a range of 450 meV and changed in intensity by a factor of 15, the indirect transition exhibits an inverse bias dependence and is only observable and spectrally separated when external bias is applied. In addition, by tuning the band profile close to flat band conditions, the direction and magnitude of the internal electric field can be estimated, which is of high interest for the polar group III-nitrides. The direct control of emission properties over a wide range bears possible application in tunable optoelectronic devices. For more fundamental studies, single-nanowire heterostructures provide a well-defined and isolated system to investigate and control interaction processes in coupled quantum structures.

Doping-Induced Universal Conductance Fluctuations in GaN Nanowires.

The transport properties of Ge-doped single GaN nanowires are investigated, which exhibit a weak localization effect as well as universal conductance fluctuations at low temperatures. By analyzing these quantum interference effects, the electron phase coherence length was determined. Its temperature dependence indicates that in the case of highly doped nanowires electron-electron scattering is the dominant dephasing mechanism, while for the slightly doped nanowires dephasing originates from Nyquist-scattering. The change of the dominant scattering mechanism is attributed to a modification of the carrier confinement caused by the Ge-doping. The results demonstrate that the phase coherence length can be tuned by the donor concentration making Ge-doped GaN nanowires an ideal model system for studying the influence of impurities on quantum-interference effects in mesoscopic and nanoscale systems.

Probing the internal electric field in GaN/AlGaN nanowire heterostructures.

We demonstrate the direct analysis of polarization-induced internal electric fields in single GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N nanodiscs embedded in GaN/AlN nanowire heterostructures. Superposition of an external electric field with different polarity results in compensation or enhancement of the quantum-confined Stark effect in the nanodiscs. By field-dependent analysis of the low temperature photoluminescence energy and intensity, we prove the [0001̅]-polarity of the nanowires and determine the internal electric field strength to 1.5 MV/cm.